1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a character input device for computer-or-mobile-device-related systems for use with various languages. The invention concerns, more particularly, a character input device for use on devices in which no complete QWERTY keyboard is available. The invention has application to various peripheral input devices for computers and communication devices.
2. Description of Background Art
Input devices for handheld computers and mobile devices commonly include a wide variety of user interaction mechanisms such as thumbsticks, D-pads, and various depressible buttons. However, in order to input text and other characters, a keyboard is preferably utilized. These keyboards are limited in size by the size of the handheld computer or mobile device. Attempts have been made to integrate keys corresponding to alphanumeric keys onto these various devices. However, such attempts have been less than satisfactory, as the size, number, and/or configuration of the keys and/or the methods of using the keys have not provided a solution that permits for efficient entry of a large number of letters and other characters without drawbacks.
A further limitation upon input devices having keys corresponding to characters relates to the various locations, languages, and cultures for which the input devices are manufactured. Depending upon the location in which the input device is utilized, the language of the user, and the culture of the user, the various characters that are input by activating the keys may be substantially different. For example, it is difficult to enter Asian characters in mobile devices that usually have only small keyboards. Inputting into such small keyboards is difficult and time consuming.
Currently, there are mainly two solutions to this problem, both of which have drawbacks. The first solution is the T9 input method (http://www.t9.com), which is suitable for word-level input. It provides only those options that are meaningful words whose characters are on the keys pressed. A user selects from the options presented to the user. The second solution involves pressing a key button multiple times quickly to indicate which character to input, see FIG. 1, e.g., pressing the number “two” key (2) once means inputting “2.” Pressing the number “two” key (2) three times means inputting the character “b.” This method is suitable for inputting single characters but it requires the user to pause the depressing of keys for some period of time to ensure that the user is not choosing the next character printed on the same key.
The utilization of either of the above solutions is inefficient and time consuming. Thus, there is a need for an efficient input method and apparatus that allows input of various languages which is easy to use and can be applied to various user devices.